Copying and pasting is a mundane task that we do almost every day, be it in our corporate work or doing an assignment for college, you will come across the need to copy items. Selecting every selectable item on a web page or a window is easy to do. It eliminates having to select one item at a time when you can simply select everything and paste, delete, or cut it at once. In this guide, learn how to select all in different cases for your Windows and Mac computers.
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How To Select All on Windows
Let’s dive into the Windows world and see how you can select all items in different cases.
- Method 1: Control + A
Windows offers tons of shortcuts to quickly navigate through the operating system. These shortcuts allow users to do their job in an efficient manner. However, one must be accustomed to such shortcut keys to keep it in their muscle memory. The first shortcut keys that you should learn are the “Control” + “A” keys as it is one of the most used shortcuts. What it does is that it selects everything that is selectable on the page or windows. For instance, if you are on a web page then pressing “Ctrl” + “A” would select all the texts and images in the webpage. Steps to implement the select all shortcut.
- Firstly, click on the web page or window to ensure that Windows knows where the shortcut should function.
- Now, press the control button and A key together.
- You will see that every selectable text and image will be marked in blue.
Now you have ordered windows to select all using the Control + A shortcut keys.
- Method 2: Use Edit Menu
Many Windows application offers an edit menu option that contains several controls. One of the controls also lets users perform the Select All function without the use of Control + A shortcut keys. Microsoft Office apps, Notepad, and similar applications have edit menu options. Here is how to use the edit menu to perform a quick selection of all items on your Windows page.
- Let’s take an example of a notepad here where you have written 100 words of notes. To select all the words in the notepad hover your cursor on top where you will see the “edit” option.
- Click on “Edit” and go down till you see “Select All”.
- Click on “Select All” and that’s it.
All your 100 words of text will be selected within the Notepad app.
- Method 3: Use File Explorer Menu
Similar to the Edit menu we have just talked about, File Explorer also offers a quick all-selection option. You may have seen many options hanging on top of File Explorer whenever you are in it. There are tons of useful options in that catalog and one of them is the “Select All” option.
- To utilize the Select All option from Windows File Explorer, go to the folder where you want all items to be selected. Click on “Home” as shown in the picture.
- After that, a drop-down option will appear and you will glaze upon the explorer options you have at your disposal.
- Look on the far left corner where you will see “Select All”, click on it.
Now all the files in that specific folder will be selected and you will know it as they will be marked in blue color.
How To Select All on Mac
The Mac version of these methods is not very different. With some variations, you can easily do all the things that Windows offers for the “select all” method.
- Method 1: Use ⌘ Command+A
This keyboard shortcut comes in especially handy in programs like Pages where you may need to select all content quickly. It’s a time-saving function that reduces the need for manual selection, increasing productivity. Take these easy steps to use the ⌘ Command+A shortcut on a Mac.
- To select everything, first click on the window, page, or screen that you wish to select.
- Make sure the window is open and prepared to receive commands. Next, simultaneously press the A and Command (⌘) keys.
- All selectable text, images, and object elements in the active window will be highlighted by this action.
- Method 2: Use Edit Menu
On a Mac, use the Edit menu to select everything by following these steps.
- To select every item, open the app or window that you want to select, like iTunes or Finder.
- In the upper menu bar, select the Edit menu by clicking on it. Select “Select All” from the menu dropdown.
- Like hitting Command + A, this will highlight every item in the active window that can be selected. This will select every file in the current folder, for example, in Finder. You are unable to use the Select All option in the current context if it is grayed out.
How to Select All Items on Android
With an Android device, selecting every item can be as simple as picking which app to use or which context to work in. These are the steps to select all text and objects in an effective manner, whether you are typing in a document, visiting a webpage, or reading an email.
Method 1: Choose Every Text You’ve Typed
You can quickly select every word you’ve typed when using an app that lets you type, like when you’re filling out a form, writing a text message, or creating an email. How to do it is as follows:
- Press Select All: Press the Select All button in the resulting menu. This will make every word inside the typing area bold. If this option isn’t visible right away, look for three dots or an icon with more options, then tap it to see more options, including Select All.
- To manually select all the text, drag the selection sliders to the right and down until all the text is highlighted. This method works best if the Select All option isn’t available. If the app allows it, this method will also pick any images or objects you’ve inserted.
Method 2: Choose Every item in a file or on a webpage.
Use these steps to select every text and object on a page or in a document:
- Press and Hold the First Word: Press and hold the text’s first word to make it the selection. This will display selection handles and highlight the word.
- Drag Your Finger to Select: To expand the selection, drag your finger down and to the right without lifting it.
- Drag all the text and items on the page until they are all highlighted.
This technique functions in programs like email clients, document editors, and browsers where the text can be selected.
How to Select All Items on iPhone
iPhone runs on iOS which has an intuitive selection of text options. Know all about selecting all controls when you are on an app or web page.
Method 1: Select All using Selection Bars
To implement the select all text, you need to be inside an app that has some typing field where you write. For instance, if you are on iMessage, WhatsApp, or any other typing area, you can do this method.
- After you have written some text in the text field, double-tap on the first word, or any word for that matter.
- Right after the double tap, two selection bars, one on each end of the word, will appear.
- Drag the ending bar towards the last word of your text to select all the text.
- Now you have to select all the selectable text and perform the given task offered by iOS.
Method 2: Select All text on Web Pages or Documents
The method is similar to selecting text with selection bars but iPhone or iPad allows other ways to select text. The pre-requisite criteria here is that you need to be on a website that allows selecting text, like Gmail, Amazon Twitter, etc. As long as the text is an actual text and not an embedded text image, you are good.
- Put your finger on any word and hold it.
- The selection bars will appear to cover the word that you have selected. Drag one side of the bar to the very end of the paragraph to select all text.
Selecting every item including images is possible with this technique.
Conclusion
On Windows, the selection of texts runs differently than on Android or Mac. Even the iPhone has its own unique style of selecting text that users need to know. However, they are all pretty simple to do and there is no doubt that anyone can fail to select all text after reading this guide. Just choosing the words and playing with them is enough to learn how to select all text in different cases.
